Otton III Otton 3 Career: rulers
Birth: Italy, 980 - 23.1
King since 983, emperor since 996. Son of Otto II. Until Otto Ill came of age (995), his mother Theophano (until 991) and grandmother Adelgeyda were regents under him. Trying to implement a utopian plan to recreate the Roman world empire with its center in Rome, Otto III was constantly in Italy.

The news of the death of Otto II came to Aachen at a time when two bishops, a German and an Italian - Willigis of Mainz and John of Ravenna - sublimely crowned the baby Otto with a royal crown on Christmas 983. Nobody argued about the right to inherit: the state unity established in the last three reigns, was in close connection with the interests of very many; it was not easy to shake him. The only question was who should be the guardian and regent during Otto's infancy - his mother Theophano or the closest relative of the late emperor. After some hesitation and intrigues on the part of one of the closest relatives of the royal house, the Empress Dowager's party prevailed with the help of one of the most important spiritual dignitaries of the empire - Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz [Willigis was the son of a simple peasant from Lower Saxony; the insightful Otto I managed to distinguish him among the clergy, and Otto II contributed to his elevation to the highest spiritual dignity.] and Theophano was appointed ruler until the age of King Otto.

Theophano ruled wisely, and Theophano's regency, which proceeded peacefully enough and meekly, does credit to the subtle political tact and instinct of this young Greek princess. The upbringing of the royal baby was somewhat influenced by his grandmother, abbess Matilda of Quedlinburg. Where the occupation concerned the interests of the dynasty, these women easily converged among themselves, although otherwise they did not always live in harmony far away. The main leader in state affairs was the Archbishop of Mainz Willigis, and the main educator of the young king was the Bishop of Hildesheim Bernward, one of the most energetic political figures of his time.

One of the important tasks of the regency during the infancy of King Otto III was to maintain peaceful relations with the West Frankish state, where a change of dynasty took place. In 986, Lothair III died, and the following year, his heir Louis V. The only offspring of the Carolingian house was Charles, to whom Otto II in 977 gave Lower Lorraine as a fief. This lazy bondage from the German emperor made Charles hated by the West Frankish nobility, the more that he was married to the daughter of a simple serviceman. That is why the majority of the nobility elected as king the most powerful of the West Frankish nobles, Hugh, Duke of France, in another way - Hugh Capet (987).

But Charles had his adherents, and a long battle ensued between the rivals, ending with the fact that Charles was treacherously captured, handed over to Capet, and soon died in custody. The new king had his own reasons to be cautious in relation to the East Frankish state, and due to the fact that relations between neighbors were extremely satisfactory for Theophano. Moreover, to some extent it turned out to be beneficial for her that the West-Frankish bishops from the party of Hugo Capet became in some opposition to the papal throne: this strengthened the connection between Rome, Italy and the Saxon dynasty, which stably cared about supporting church unity. But the young and intelligent ruler did not live long: in 991 she died, and the Dowager Empress Adelheida hastened from Italy, where she was engaged in administrative affairs, to replace the ruler. Four years later, the young king, who was 15 years old, took part in one of the campaigns against the Slavs, and then entered into business administration.

Otto I crowned his long and successful reign with the marriage of his son Otto II (r. 973–983) to a Byzantine princess. Otto II and his son Otto III (983-1002) died young and did not have time to develop their own policies. Otto II was forced to pacify the German princes for several years, and in southern Italy he suffered a crushing defeat from the Saracens. Nevertheless, the Ottonian monarchy was already strong enough to survive the long period of minority of Otto III. This highly educated ruler, half Greek, half German, placed on his seal the inscription Renovatio imperii Romanorum("Rebirth of the Roman Empire"). Of course, the Christian empire was meant, in which, however, the church and the pope were to serve as obedient instruments of the emperor's power. Otto dismissed and appointed popes, guided by the needs of imperial policy. In 999, he initiated the election of his friend, scientist and mathematician, Herbert of Aurillac (who took the name of Sylvester II), to the papal throne, considering that he would be more suitable than others for the role of an ally of the emperor, whose figure was to embody the image of the second Constantine. Herbert's choice of the name Sylvester had a symbolic meaning: Pope Sylvester I (314–335) is said to have converted Emperor Constantine the Great (312–337) to Christianity.

Undoubtedly, Otto III thought in imperial terms. He visited Poland, where the local prince Bolesław the Brave recognized his suzerainty, and founded a new bishopric in Gniezno, where the grave of his friend, the Czech bishop and St. royal crown to its first Christian king Stephen. It is significant that Otto III's trip to Eastern Europe ended in Aachen, where he opened the tomb of Charlemagne and removed the golden cross from his neck, after which the remains, as the chronicler reports, were "buried again with many prayers."

What was it? An unreasonable waste of German resources? Dreams that were destined to be shattered even if the emperor had not died at an early age? We do not know. But Otto's contemporaries had no such doubts. Nation-states in those days were not imagined even theoretically. On the other hand, the idea of ​​a Christian empire, which had a real precedent in the reign of Charlemagne, dominated the minds and seemed practically achievable. At the same time, there was an awareness of the familiar reality, in particular the fragility of the political organization, which depends almost exclusively on the personal qualities and physical health of the ruler. This realization came at the same time that the Italian climate was beginning to exert its notorious devastating effect on the Northern troops.

Eastern Europe

To the east of Carolingian Europe and to the north of the Byzantine Empire stretched a vast low-lying plain. Its southern part was occupied by open grassy pastures, wide Eurasian steppes stretching eastward to Siberia. The steppes provided an ideal space for nomads who traveled on horseback, driving cattle, terrorizing and exploiting settled agricultural communities. Further to the north was a wide belt of forests, changing from mixed to coniferous (pine) and breaking off in front of the desert expanses of tundra and permafrost, the northern edge of the Eurasian continent. The climate of this region was and remains sharply continental, with large temperature differences, which to a certain extent resembles the American Midwest, and a short growing season. At the same time, it was here that numerous rivers flowing north and south greatly facilitated the movement of people and goods.

These are the geographical conditions that largely determined the history of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. Compared with the Mediterranean and Western Europe, the peasant settlements there were small, scattered over wide areas and isolated. Trade was conducted by small groups of professional merchants and adventurers who traveled vast distances from the Baltic to the Black or Caspian Seas and on to Constantinople or Persia. They mainly traded in luxury goods, and only a few permanent trading posts near convenient river crossings or at the confluence of rivers turned into large cities.

Thus, Eastern Europe was open to invaders, who conquered vast areas here just as easily as they difficultly controlled and protected them from invasions. Only when the settled peasant communities were able to organize their political and military defense, that is, to create their own states, were they able to withstand the continuous incursions of nomads. But it was a long process that took almost a thousand years.

The main land of the emperors, in the city of the apostles and martyrs, where the pope and the emperor, in full harmony and mutual understanding, were to occupy their posts. "Children's game" - contemporaries have already called such ambition, control of the world from the very center. Trying to implement a utopian plan to recreate the Roman "world empire" with its center in Rome, Otto III was constantly in Italy.

Regency of Empress Theophano

The news of the death of Otto II came to Aachen at a time when two bishops, a German and an Italian - Willigis of Mainz and John of Raven - solemnly crowned the baby Otto with a royal crown on Christmas Day. Nobody argued about the right to inherit: state unity, which was established in the last three reigns, was in close connection with the interests of many; it was not easy to ignore her. The only question was who should be the guardian and regent during Otto's infancy - his mother Theophano or the closest relative of the late emperor. After some hesitation and proskukiv from one of the closest relatives of the royal house, the party of the Empress gained the upper hand with the help of one of the most important spiritual dignitaries of the empire - Willigis, Archbishop of Maine (Willigis was the son of a simple peasant from Lower Saxony; the astute Otto managed to distinguish him among the clergy, and Otto II in contributed to his elevation to the highest spiritual rank) and Theophano was appointed ruler until the age of King Otto. Theophanes Rules wisely, and Theophano's regency, which passed peacefully and calmly enough, thus does credit to the subtle political tact and flair of this young Greek princess. His grandmother, abbess Matilda Kvedlinburgska, took part in the upbringing of the royal baby. Where it was a question of the interests of the dynasty, these women easily converged among themselves, although otherwise they did not always get along. The main leader in state affairs was the Archbishop of Mainz Willigs, and the main educator of the young king was the Bishop of Hildesheim Bernward, one of the most energetic politicians of his time.

One of the important tasks of the regency during the childhood of King Otto II was to maintain peaceful relations with the West Frankish state, where the change of dynasty took place. Lothair III died in the city, and the following year his son Louis V also died. The only descendant of the Carolingian house was Charles, to whom Otto II gave Lower Lorraine as a fief in the city. This servile dependence on the German emperor made Charles hated by the West Frankish nobility, especially since he was married to the daughter of a simple serviceman. That is why the majority of the nobility elected as king the most powerful of the West Frankish nobles, Hugh, Duke of France, in another way - Hugh Capet (g.).

But Charles had his supporters, and a long struggle ensued between the rivals, which ended with the fact that Charles was treacherously captured by Capeta and soon died in custody. The new king had his reasons to be cautious in relation to the East Frankish state, and therefore relations between neighbors developed for Feofano quite satisfactorily. It even to some extent turned out to be beneficial for her that the West-Frankish bishops from the party of Hugo Capet went into opposition to the papal throne: this strengthened the ties between Rome, Italy and the Saxon dynasty, constantly cared about supporting church unity. But the young and intelligent ruler did not live long: she died in the city, and the Dowager Empress Adelheida hurried from Italy, where she was in charge, to replace the ruler. Four years later, the young king, who was 15 years old, participated in one of the campaigns against the Slavs, and then entered the administration of affairs.

Years of independent government

It is difficult to say something outstanding about this unfortunate young man who ascended the throne at 15 and died at 22. He had a pleasant appearance, had rare abilities and received an excellent education for those times. Having begun to rule the state at a fairly young age, he was rapidly subjected to the enthusiasm of youth, showing himself as such, exorbitantly relying on his imperial power, then suddenly proceeded to self-destruction. He was too young to take his position naturally and overcome the insecurities to which he was subjected to various influences.

His first trip to Rome was successful. The pope had just died and the Roman ambassadors met Otto III at Ravenna. He, probably listening to someone's advice, pointed them to his close relative Bruno, son of the Duke of Carinthia, as a candidate, and this 26-year-old youth was elected pope under the name Gregory V. He crowned Otto emperor in Rome, after which he returned to Germany. During the journey home, he gave himself up to the influence of one of the ascetics of that time, Bishop Adelbert of Prague (He was still a very young man - originally from the Czech Republic, from a noble family. Before joining the monks, Jonah was called Vojtech), who spent his life in fasting and prayer and strove torment and suffering for the faith of Christ. Soon after that, he was really tortured by the pagan Prussians, whom he stubbornly preached Christianity. Even after his death, Otto III treated him with sincere respect and built temples in honor of Adelbert, who was canonized by the Western Church in various parts of the state. A little later, another spiritual dignitary appeared among the close associates of the young emperor, the exact opposite of Adelbert. It was Archbishop Herbert of Reims, a Frenchman, a man of high religion at that time, who was constantly busy with fantastic plans for ecclesiastical and political reforms, which he managed to convey to the young emperor. Meanwhile, the young Pope Gregory V began reforms in the internal structure of the Western Church in the spirit of the ideas that the religious party stubbornly pursued in society, which managed to settle well in the Aquitaine Cluniac monastery, founded in 910. Pope Gregory V persistently fought against the French bishops and against King Robert, who ascended the throne after the death of Hugh Capet, because Robert did not want to break off a marriage that was not permitted by church laws. With such energetic actions, the young pope aroused against himself one of the parties among the Roman nobility, who, having come to power, elected a new pope during the life of Gregory V.

Otto had to go on a campaign through the Alps a second time in 997. He returned Pope Gregory to Rome, forcing the rebels to surrender the fortress of St. Angel, they took refuge, and executed 12 organizers of the rebellion. Gregory convened a local council, in the presence of which, on his orders, the antipope was torn off the episcopal clothes, then they put him backwards on a donkey and drove him through the streets of Rome to ridicule and shame. Shortly thereafter, Pope Gregory died, the emperor chose Herbert as his successor, shortly before this he had been appointed Archbishop of Ravensk. Under the name of Silvestri II, Herbert ascended the papal throne. During his second stay in Italy, Otto stubbornly indulged in the torture of the flesh in the spirit of St. Adelbert and his numerous Italian followers. With such a religious exercise, he combined fantastic political plans. Thus, for example, he spoke of the restoration of the "Roman Republic" and, as Roman Emperor, remained on the Aventine Hill in Rome. At that very time, he surrounded himself with a purely Byzantine ceremonial, dressed in fancy clothes, wore a mantle embroidered with apocalyptic images and signs of the Zodiac, introduced the government of Rome in a new way and gave everyone new titles, and appropriated the title of "king of kings" to himself. There were vestiaries and protivostairii, logothetes and archilogothes, Bishop Bernvard of Hildesheim was exalted by the Byzantine title of "primiscrinia". Both the emperor and the pope, obviously, nurtured the idea of ​​building Rome in the sense of a world capital and were able to act together in this direction: it seems that these people, highly thoughtful only about themselves, already had the idea of ​​liberating the Holy Sepulcher from the power of the infidels.

At the end of 999, Otton returned to Germany shortly after the death of his grandmother, the widow of Empress Adelheid. He immediately went to Gniezno, where the remains of St. Adalbert, almost worth its weight in gold bought from the Prussians. With these visits to Gniezno, the ecclesiastical organization of Poland was closely connected, where one archbishopric and seven bishoprics were established. Duke Boleslav, who understood how to receive this young emperor, arranged an excellent meeting and did not skimp on flattery. The emperor also came up with a classic title for him, calling him "a friend and ally of the Roman people." At the same time, he untied his hands for active actions in church affairs, in which the Polish prince tried to get rid of German influence, replacing the places of priests with either Italians or Czechs.

From Poland, Otto went to Aachen, and here he descended into the tomb of his illustrious predecessor, Charlemagne. He took with him only one tooth of Karl from there in the form of a relic, and six months later again hurried to Italy. The Lombard principalities, as he saw, more and more eluded him; in Rome, he was in danger from a violent population that rebelled against Otto because he did not take his side in civil strife with the town of Tibur (Tivoli), with which the Romans had long been at enmity. Solemnly reconciled with the rebels, Otto went to Ravenna, on the way moving from military preparations to pious exercises and conversations of an educational nature. In May 1001, he reappeared under the walls of Rome, where the wind managed to turn the other way, but did not enter the city, but went to Benevento, which obeyed him, and moved back to Ravenna, in the vicinity of which a small community of pious hermits settled on a small island. . One of them, St. Romuald, to whom Otto spoke especially often, sought to force the young emperor to renounce the world. However, the young man dreamed of something else - he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to ask for the hand of one of the Greek princesses. At present, the plans of Otto's Italian policy aroused discontent among the German nobility: the princes began to gather and enter into negotiations with each other that were dangerous for the emperor. Even the devoted servant of the House of Saxony, Archbishop Willigis, did not hide his extreme irritation. An endless dispute ensued between him and Bernward of Hildesheim over the monastery of Gandersheim, located on the border of the Mainz and Hildesheim dioceses. Bernwarda, Otto's former tutor, was now strongly fascinated by his ideas, which Willigis looked at from the point of view of sound public policy. The emperor decided to transfer the discord of the German bishops to the discussion of the council, which he decided to convene in the vicinity of Spoleto. However, the council did not take place, showing to what extent the importance of imperial power was generated. The general respect for the pope was no less shaken, and in Germany the papal-imperial policy of Sylvester met with open condemnation in the clergy. Gradually, the guy became convinced that he had finally lost his inner connection with the people. He again went to Rome, and since the gates of the Eternal City, again seized with indignation, were not opened to him, he settled in the vicinity of Rome, in the castle of Paterno, on Mount Sorakt (Monte Sorato).

Here on January 23, 1002 Otto III died after a short illness. The spiritual and secular dignitaries who were present at the same time accepted his last will. They were forced to hide his death until they brought their small army to the castle: it was necessary to transport the body of Emperor Otto to Germany through areas agitated by the uprising and full of rebellious spirit. This was not achieved without difficulty. In Germany, at the behest of the emperor, his remains were buried in Aachen. A year later, Sylvester also died, having been installed as pope by Otto and, after Otto's death, managed to make peace with the population of Rome.

The fact that Otto III was only three years old when he was crowned on the German throne, and he was still a teenager when he began to rule as emperor, aroused the interest of his contemporaries, but the results of his reign are most surprising. His short but fruitful six-year reign changed the face of the empire in the eyes of Europeans - instead of an instrument of German domination, the state began to resemble a federation that honored the rights of the non-German countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

For medieval European society with its high moral principles, very young kings, surrounded by equally young courtiers and advisers, were not new. It was not uncommon for aristocrats to occupy the highest positions at a young age as a result of the death of their predecessors. And precisely for this reason, they also could not count on a long stay in power. Most of the newly elected Holy Roman Emperors were less than twenty-five years of age by the time they took the throne, which was par for the course, since they had to be in good physical shape and adapt quickly to circumstances. These itinerant rulers spent their lives in the saddle, trying to hold on to their lands that stretched from the North Sea to the Mediterranean shores.

Ottonides

Otto belonged to the Saxon ruling Ottonid dynasty. The German aristocrats elected his father, Otto I, Duke of Saxony, German king in 936, and in 962, from which the history of the Holy Roman Empire begins, he was crowned and became emperor. Saxony became rich when silver deposits were discovered in the Harz at the beginning of the 10th century. In addition, rent payments, tribute, serfs and slaves from the conquered Slavic tribes flowed there. Wealth allowed the Ottonids, the first Germanic dynasty, which eventually turned into an imperial power of European proportions, to develop a unique policy of royal power. Their travels through their domains were accompanied by elaborate ceremonies, solemn processions and festivals. The Saxon army, dressed in helmets and armor, was well armed, which contributed to the offensive operations. There was no trace of clumsy soldiers in straw hats, and in sword fighting the Saxons were unrivaled.

The decisive victory of Otto I over the Hungarians at the Battle of Lech (955) secured his right to the imperial crown. After military successes in Lombardy, his power extended to southern Italy. The appearance of the Germans there led to a clash with Constantinople: the Byzantine emperors still defended their rights to this region. In 972, a year before his death, Otto I arranged the marriage of his son and heir to the Greek princess Theophano, niece of Emperor John Tzimiskes. This calmed Byzantium a little, but during the reign of Otto II, armed confrontation in southern Italy resumed. It so happened that the son born of this marriage showed a deep understanding of both his Byzantine and Saxon roots.

Childhood of Otto III and his regents

As a boy, Otto III asked his French tutor Herbert of Aurillac to instill in him "the Greek subtlety that glows like an ember under the ashes of my Saxon immaturity." His other mentors, the Greek John Philagthos and the Saxon Bernward, supplemented the education of the young king with a mixture of Greek and Roman, Saxon and Frankish ideas about the world. When Otto was only three years old, his twenty-eight-year-old father died after a ten-year reign (973-983), and the archbishops of Ravenna and Mainz immediately crowned the boy with the German crown - this happened on Christmas Day 983. The dreams of Charlemagne had a particularly strong influence on Otto III and the Carolingians on the European Christian Empire. Theophano ruled the empire on behalf of Otto until his death in 991. She was succeeded by Adelheida, grandmother of Otto III and widow of Otto I, who ruled until the boy grew up and stood at the helm of power. As a teenager, Otto tried to reconcile eastern Byzantine traditions with western Catholic ones and reform the institution of the papacy, at the end of the 10th century. going through hard times. Pope John XII, who crowned Otto I, was an ignorant voluptuary who died in the arms of his mistress, and Pope John XV was called the weak-willed henchman of the Crescentii, a Roman family of aristocrats.

After the death of John XV, Otto appointed his confessor Bruno, also the grandson of Otto I, as pope. Bruno ruled under the name of Gregory V, and after him Otto appointed his mentor Herbert, who took the name Sylvester II, as pope. Both popes shared their patron's desire for intellectual and spiritual renewal, a process that was already well underway in the west of the continent, where a monastic-led reform movement was gaining support. However, Otto believed that the papacy needed a firm guiding hand to achieve these goals. He remembered Justinian, the 6th-century Byzantine emperor who spearheaded the rebirth of the Eastern Roman Empire and regained the Italic provinces lost during the barbarian invasion.

Therefore, Otto depicted himself on the imperial seals in the form of a Greek bashpeus, a large-bearded king, perfectly understanding the importance of iconography and symbolism. Otto's shoes were studded with symbolic images of eagles, dragons and lions, that is, animals associated with imperial power. On major church holidays, he wore a dalmatic, church vestment, usually made of silk, brocade or velvet. Otto's dalmatic was embroidered with golden eagles. On his festive attire there were 365 bells, one for each day of the yearly cycle of the movement of celestial bodies, since Otto ruled in the name of cosmic harmony. These innovations testify to the influence on Otto of Byzantine ceremonies, with their attraction to a clear ritual designation of the rank of a person. Following his example, the same strict observance of rituals was introduced at the papal court, and vestments and symbols were now given great importance.

New Otto titles

Understanding the importance of titles, Otto in 1000 begins to call himself "the servant of Jesus Christ", a year later changing this title to "servant of the apostles." The change was significant, if we recall that Constantine chose the title of Equal-to-the-Apostles for himself. In other words, now Otto declared himself the vicar of St. Peter and, therefore, the legitimate ruler of the lands subject to the papal throne. Behind this was the publication of a false document of the 8th century, known as the "Gift of Constantine", in which the emperor allegedly bestowed the popes with rights to land and spiritual and secular power. Significantly, this document was used to substantiate papal claims for the appointment of secular rulers in Western Europe. Otto rendered the papacy an important service by returning to it some of the northern Italian lands mentioned in the Gift. However, this act was only a personal favor to Herbert. Otto stated unequivocally that, as emperor, he was the supreme ruler not only of these lands, but also of any others that Constantine could give to the heirs of St. Peter. The papacy, he stressed, ruled its lands ineptly, and as a result, having lost most of its hereditary possessions, it resorted to forgery in order to seize the imperial lands.

Otto's idealized ideas of Rome as the "capital of the world" were replaced by realistic views: he seemed to open his eyes to the disorder that reigned there around 1000. He believed that Rome should be the city of emperors, not popes. Dominion over Italy, a revived Rome and control of the papacy - that is what constituted Otto's policy in Italy. However, no less ambitious were his plans for the German core of the empire and the role of the church.

German imperial church

The German imperial church was Otto's creation, and he used it to consolidate his power over the often capricious nobility. In addition, it served as a tool for the eastern expansion of the Ottonids. Missionary dioceses formed in Poland, Bohemia, Moravia and Hungary were outposts of church centers in Mainz and Magdeburg, Salzburg and Passau. They were part of the policy of forced Germanization, as well as the centers of colonization of the eastern lands under the rule of the Ottonids. The imperial patronage of the church in the East served as an impetus for the revival of architecture and applied arts, and in addition, had the goal of resuming the attempts of Charlemagne to cope with the Slavs, who did not stop raids on the eastern borders of the empire along the Elbe River.

Otto's visit to Aachen

To honor the memory of Charlemagne, in 1000 Otto visits Aachen. He was aware that Charlemagne had failed to assimilate the Slavic population and that the German core of the empire lacked the resources for a final push to the East. He also thought that from a strategic point of view, this was a mistake, since the conquered hostile peoples could enlist the support of Byzantium. Therefore, Otto abandoned missionary work and began to pursue a policy of federalization in the eastern territories. He still expected respect for his imperial title from these lands and their rulers, but now they enjoyed the rights of internal autonomy, and the empire began to be a looser structure than the rigid model of Otto I, which demanded unquestioning obedience.

Otto's generosity towards Poland

In Poland, Otto created an autonomous archbishopric at Gniezno and three suffragan dioceses at Kolberg, Krakow, and Breslau. His generosity even extended to the extent that he returned to the Polish rulers the tribute they had previously paid to the emperor. These gestures convinced the Poles that they could join the Latin West without becoming Germanic, and deeply influenced the Hungarian Prince Stephen, who at that time was engrossed in a struggle for supreme power with other Hungarian aristocrats. Stefan married Gisela, the sister of a Bavarian duke, in order to bring Hungary closer to the West. Supported by Otto, he chose to submit to Rome when it came to the baptism of a country that had recently been pagan. Not surprisingly, in December 1000, he ascended the throne under the name of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, and accepted the crown sent to him by the Pope. K Otto considered himself the governor of Peter, and this changed the view of both the papacy and the imperial power. When he passed away at the age of 21, his empire was a synthesis of European cultures. The results of his reign had an impact on religious loyalty, fidelity to dynastic principles and the political will of 1 future generations of Europeans.

His first trip to Rome was successful. The pope had just passed away and the Roman ambassadors met Otto III in Ravenna. He, probably on someone's advice, pointed out to them his close relative Bruno, son of the Duke of Carinthia, as a candidate, and this 26-year-old youth was elected pope under the name Gregory V. He crowned Otto emperor in Rome, after which he returned to Germany. Here, during the return journey, he succumbed to the influence of one of the ascetics of that time, Bishop Adalbert of Prague [He was still a very young man - a Czech by birth, from a noble family. Before entering monasticism, he was called Vojtech.], who spent his life in fasting and prayer and strove for martyrdom and suffering for the faith of Christ. Soon after that, he was really tortured by the pagan Prussians, to whom he zealously preached Christianity. Even after his death, Otto III treated him with sincere respect and erected temples and monasteries in various places of the state in honor of Adalbert, who was canonized by the Western Church. A little later, another spiritual dignitary appeared among the close associates of the young emperor, the exact opposite of Adalbert. It was Archbishop Herbert of Reims, a Frenchman, a highly learned man at that time, a subtle courtier and a restless ambitious man, constantly busy with fantastic plans for ecclesiastical and political reforms, to which he managed to win over the young emperor. Meanwhile, the young Pope Gregory V began reforms in the internal structure of the Western Church in the spirit of ideas that were zealously carried out in society by a religious party that had built a strong nest in the Aquitaine Cluniac monastery, founded in 910. Pope Gregory V persistently led the fight against the French bishops and against King Robert, who ascended the throne after the death of Hugh Capet, because Robert did not want to dissolve a marriage that was not allowed by church laws. By such energetic actions, the young pope aroused against himself one of the parties among the Roman nobility, which, seizing power in their hands, elected a new pope during the life of Gregory V.

Otto had to set out again on a campaign through the Alps in 997. He returned Pope Gregory to Rome, forced the rebels to surrender the fortress of St. Angel, where they took refuge, and executed 12 instigators of the rebellion. Gregory convened a local council, in the presence of which, on his orders, the antipope was torn off his episcopal vestments, then they put him backwards on a donkey and drove him through the streets of Rome to ridicule and shame. Soon after this, Pope Gregory died, and the emperor chose Herbert as his successor, who shortly before this had been appointed archbishop of Ravenna. Under the name of Sylvester II, Herbert ascended the papal throne.

During his second stay in Italy, Otto zealously indulged in the torture of the flesh in the spirit of St. Adalbert and his numerous Italian followers. With such a religious exercise, he combined fantastic political plans. Thus, for example, he spoke of the restoration of the "Roman Republic" and, as Roman Emperor, remained on the Aventine Hill in Rome. At the same time, he surrounded himself with a purely Byzantine ceremonial, dressed up in elaborate clothes, wore a mantle embroidered with apocalyptic images and signs of the Zodiac, established the government of Rome in a new way and gave everyone new titles, and appropriated the name "king of kings" to himself. Vestiarii and protovestiarii, logothetes and archilogothes appeared; Bishop Bernvard of Hildesheim was exalted with the Byzantine title of "primiscrinia". Both the emperor and the pope, obviously, nurtured the idea of ​​building Rome into the significance of the world capital and were able to act together in this direction: it seems that these people, who dreamed highly of themselves, already had the idea of ​​liberating the Holy Sepulcher from the power of the infidels .

At the end of 999, Otto returned to Germany shortly after the death of his grandmother, Empress Dowager Adelheid. He immediately went to Gniezno, where the remains of St. Adalbert, almost worth its weight in gold bought from the Prussians. This visit to Gniezno was closely connected with the ecclesiastical organization of Poland, where one archbishopric and seven bishoprics were established. Duke Boleslav, who understood how to receive this young emperor, gave him a magnificent meeting and did not skimp on flattery. The emperor came up with a classic title for him, calling him "friend and ally of the Roman people." At the same time, he untied his hands for complete freedom of action in church affairs, in which the Polish prince tried to get rid of German influence, replacing the places of priests with either Italians or Czechs.

From Poland, Otto went to Aachen, and here he descended into the tomb of his illustrious predecessor, Charlemagne. He took with him only one tooth of Karl from there in the form of a relic, and six months later again hurried to Italy. The Lombard principalities, as he saw, more and more eluded him; in Rome, he was in danger from a violent population that rebelled against Otto because he did not take his side in the feud with the town of Tibur (Tivoli), with which the Romans had long been at enmity. Solemnly reconciled with the rebels, Otto went to Ravenna, passing from military preparations to pious exercises and edifying discourses along the way. In May 1001, he again appeared under the walls of Rome, where the wind managed to turn in the other direction, but did not enter the city, but went to Benevent, who had submitted to him, and then moved back to Ravenna, in the vicinity of which a small community settled on a small island pious hermits. One of them, St. Romuald, with whom Otto spoke especially often, sought to force the young emperor to renounce the world. However, the young man dreamed of something else - he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to ask for the hand of one of the Greek princesses. At this time, the plans of Otto's Italian policy aroused discontent among the German nobility: the princes began to gather and enter into negotiations with each other that were dangerous for the emperor. Even the most devoted servant of the House of Saxony, Archbishop Willigis, did not hide his extreme irritation. An endless dispute ensued between him and Bernward of Hildesheim over the monastery of Gandersheim, located on the border of the Mainz and Hildesheim dioceses. Bernward, Otto's former tutor, at this time was greatly carried away by his ideas, which Willigis looked at from the point of view of sound public policy. The emperor decided to refer the feud of the German bishops to the discussion of the council, which he decided to convene in the vicinity of Spoleto. However, the council did not take place, which shows to what extent the significance of the imperial power was shaken. The general respect for the pope was no less shaken, and in Germany, the papal-imperial policy of Sylvester met with open censure in the clergy. Gradually, the young man became convinced that he had finally lost his inner connection with the people. He again moved towards Rome, and since the gates of the Eternal City, again engulfed in indignation, were not opened to him, he settled in the vicinity of Rome, in the castle of Paterno, on Mount Soract (Monte Soratte).

Here, on January 23, 1002, Otto III died after a short illness. The spiritual and secular dignitaries who were present at the same time accepted his last will. They were forced to hide his death until they brought their small army to the castle: it was necessary to transport the body of Emperor Otto to Germany through areas agitated by the uprising and full of rebellious spirit. This was not achieved without difficulty. In Germany, according to the will of the emperor, his remains were buried in Aachen. A year later, Sylvester also died, having been installed as pope by Otto and, after Otto's death, managed to make peace with the population of Rome.